Lack of savings put families one crisis away from calamity

7:21 PM,
Feb. 1, 2014

Written by

Russ Zimmer
CentralOhio.com

One bad turn of luck and even some solidly middle-class families in Ohio could be insolvent in short order, according to a new report on the health of household finances.

Nearly 45 percent of households in Ohio have little or no savings - less than $5,887 for a family of four - to cover basic expenses after an unexpected crisis, such as a job loss or medical emergency, according to the Corporation for Enterprise Development's 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard.

"Liquid asset poor," as the report calls it, is a term that applies not only to the majority of those living below the federal poverty ...